TenderTale

The United States Navy

Auxiliary Ship: Submarine

A Rollcall of Duty, Service and Honor

Go directly to the Modern Tenders
How the Tenders are listed: The Navy didn't start using the Two letter - Number designation system until July, 1920. Before that - ships were just referred to by their name - and type (like USS Yosemite, Screw Steamer -- or USS Tallahassee, Monitor No. 9).

To make things as simple as possible - we've arranged the ships into two historical sections: Ships that served with a primary assignment of Submarine Tender - but for various reasons were never designated as an AS - are listed first - by date of first Sub Tender service.

All ships that carried an AS designation at any time in their service history - are listed following - in AS number order.
Click on a Hull Number or Ships Name to goto that ship's page (data, history and pictures)
Name Era Status Years as
Tender**
USS Hist 1903-1908 Decommissioned, Sold 1

USS Fortune 1903-1907
1908-1912
Decommissioned, Sold 8

USS Niņa 1906-1910 Lost at Sea, All hands presumed dead 4

USS Elcano 1908-1910 Decommissioned, Sunk as TargetV 3

USS Castine 1908-1913 Decommissioned, Sold 5

USS Dixie 1909-1914 Decommissioned, Sold 5

USS Tonopah 1909-1919 Decommissioned, Sold 2

USS Mohican 1909-1914 Decommissioned, Sold 4

USS Severn 1910-1913 Decommissioned, Sold 3

USS Tallahassee 1910-1919 Decommissioned, Sold 1

USS Yosemite 1911-1912 Decommissioned, Sold 2 Months

USS Monadnock 1912-1919 Decommissioned, Sold 7

USS Cheyenne 1913-1919 Decommissioned, Sold 6

USS Ozark 1913-1919 Decommissioned, Sold 6

USS Potomac 1915- Decommissioned, Sold <1

USS St. Louis 1916-1917 Decommissioned, Sold 1

USS Charleston 1917-1918 Decommissioned, Sold 1

USS Monterey 1917-1921 Decommissioned, Sold 3

USS Hannibal 1919-1920 Decommissioned, Sunk as Target 2

USS Chicago 1919-1923 Decommissioned,
Floundered, Lost at sea.
4

USS Chewink 1920-1931, 1940-1945 Decommissioned, Sunk as Target 6

USS Finch 1921-1924 Lost to enemy action 3

USS Curlew 5/1922-1923 Lost in Shipwreck 1

USS Ortolan 5/1922-1929 Decommissioned, Sold 5

USS Seagul 6/1922-1941 Decommissioned, Sold 1

USS Quail 9/1922 - 1924 Scuttled 5 May 1942 1

USS Ajax 1/1923-1923 Decommissioned, Sold 1

USS Falcon 1/1926-1946 Decommissioned, Sold 20

USS Pigeon 12/1941 Sank by Japanese dive bomber attack 4 Months in Hell

USS Coucal 6/1943- Decommissioned, Sunk as Target <1

Modern Fleet Tenders - Tenders that carried the AS designation

Hull # Name Era Status Years as
Tender**
Missing
History***
AS 1 USS Fulton 1915-1925 Decommissioned, Sold 10

AS 2 USS Bushnell 1916-1937 Decommissioned, Disposed 22

AS 3 USS Holland 1926-1945 Decommissioned, Disposed 19

AS 4 USS Alert 1912-1922 Decommissioned, Disposed 10

AS 5 USS Beaver 1918-1945 Decommissioned, Disposed 27

AS 6 USS Camden 1919-1931 Decommissioned, Disposed 12

AS 7 USS Rainbow 1910-1918 Decommissioned, Disposed 8

AS 8 USS Savannah 1917-1926 Decommissioned, Sold 9

AS 9 USS Canopus 1922-1942 Scuttled 1942 20

AS 10 USS Argonne 1924-1934 Decommissioned, Disposed 10

AS 11 USS Fulton 1941-1946
1951-1991
Decommissioned, Disposed 45

AS 12 USS Sperry 1942-1982 Decommissioned, Holding at Suisun 40

AS 13 USS Griffin 1941-1945 Decommissioned, Disposed 4

AS 14 USS Pelias 1941-1945 Decommissioned, Disposed 4

AS-15 USS Bushnell 1943-1947
1952-1980
Decommissioned, Sunk as Target 32

AS-16 USS H. W. Gilmore 1944-1980 Decommissioned, Scrapped 36

AS-17 USS Nereus 1945-1971 Decommissioned, Holding at Suisun 26

AS-18 USS Orion 1943-1993 Decommissioned, Scrapped 50

AS-19 USS Proteus 1944-1947
1947-1959
1960-1992
Decommissioned,
redesignated IX-518 berthing barge, Scrapped
48****

AS-20 USS Otus 1941-1945 Decommissioned, Sold 4

AS-21 Antaeus 1941-1942 Decommissioned, Disposed 1

AS-22 USS Euryale 1944-1946 Decommissioned, Disposed 2

AS-23 USS Aegir 1944-1945 Decommissioned, Disposed 2

AS-24 USS Anthedon 1944-1946 Decommissioned, Sold to Turkey 2

AS-25 USS Apollo 1944-1946 Decommissioned, Disposed 2

AS-26 USS Clytie 1945-1946 Decommissioned, ? 1

AS-27-
AS-30
AS 27 - AS 30 were converted and built as ADs (Destroyer Tenders)

AS-31 USS Hunley 1963-1994 Decommissioned, Scrapped 31

AS-32 USS Holland 1963-1996 Decommissioned, holding at Suisun 33

AS-33 USS Simon Lake 1965-1999 Inactivated, Processing at Norfolk NSY 34

AS-34 USS Canopus 1966-1994 Decommissioned, Teeside for scrapping 28 1986-1990

AS-35 Cancelled in 1964

AS-36 USS L.Y. Spear 1970-1996 Decommissioned, Reserve Portsmouth 26 1970-1996

AS-37 USS Dixon 1971-1995 Sunk as Target, 21 July 2003 24

AS-38 Cancelled in 1969

AS-39 USS Emory S. Land 1978- Active 21

AS-40 USS Frank Cable 1980- Active 19

AS-41 USS McKee 1981-1999 Inactive - undergoing layup at Norfolk 18

**Years with primary job as Submarine Tender - every Naval Vessel has collateral duties. Several ships have incomplete histories - so their "tour" as a Submarine Tender may be in error.
***The history / Service record is incomplete for the period indicated - we would appreciate accurate data from anyone who can supply it - and certainly want to thank those who have already supplied missing data for many of these ships.
****AS-19 spent the 12 years 1947 - 1959 while in "De-commissioned but Active Service" supporting submarines at the New London Boat docks. She was converted to a berthing barge and designated IX-518 in 1994 - and served another 5 years. She was Inactivated once again and towed to the Reserve Fleet at Suisun (Bencia, CA) 9/99. She was scrapped in at ESCO Marine, Brownsvilled TX 2007.
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